Pakistan Denies Any Link To Atom Arms Plot in U.S.

By BARBARA CROSSETTE, Special to the New York Times

Published: July 17, 1987

KARACHI, Pakistan, July 16—
The Government of Pakistan denied today that it was involved in any way in an attempt to export a steel alloy from the United States illegally for possible use in making nuclear weapons.

The denial, in a statement by the Foreign Ministry, follows the arrest in Philadelphia last Friday of a Canadian of Pakistani origin, Arshad Z. Pervez, on charges of trying to circumvent American export laws to acquire the alloy for shipment to Pakistan. Mr. Pervez is also accused of offering bribes to American officials.

American law enforcement agents said Mr. Pervez had led them to believe that the material - 50,000 pounds of a special steel compound produced by the Carpenter Steel Corporation in Reading, Pa. - was intended for Pakistan's nuclear program. Members of Congress, concerned that Pakistan may be proceeding with nuclear weapons research and development, are seeking to withhold aid from the Government of President Mohammad Zia ul-Haq if this is the case.

Pakistan has said repeatedly that it is not developing nuclear weapons, although it is developing peaceful uses of nuclear power. It repeated the denial today.

The Foreign Ministry said the United States Embassy had requested an appointment to discuss the implications of the Pervez case with the Government, but a date had not been set. Afghan Issue Is Cited

Pakistani officials said they were the target of Soviet or Afghanistan-sponsored campaigns to discredit them because this country provides bases for seven guerrilla armies fighting the Kabul Government. Pakistan's role is important to United States efforts to weaken the Soviet-backed Kabul regime through support of the guerrillas.

American officials in Pakistan said they would not comment on the Pervez case or on the larger issue of Pakistan's nuclear program. But the former Ambassador in Islamabad, Deane R. Hinton, warned Pakistan against nuclear weapons development in several speeches and interviews before his recent departure.

He cautioned Pakistanis not to view nuclear development as a matter of national pride in the face of India's testing of a nuclear device 13 years ago. Some Pakistanis regard this issue as a test of sovereignty, particularly in relations with the United States.

In its statement today and in answers to questions put to a Foreign Ministry spokesman, the Government described Congressional criticism regarding the Pervez case as propaganda against Pakistan. It called the charges against Mr. Pervez ''baseless'' but added that it would be up to the American courts to decide the case.

Whatever the decision, Pakistan said, the Government, its agencies and private Pakistani companies had ''no connection whatever with Pervez.''

A Foreign Ministry spokesman, who was not identified, said Pakistan was concerned that this case was getting publicity on the eve of Congressional hearings on aid. Disinformation Is Seen

''This is not the first time such a coincidence has taken place,'' the spokesman said. He said it was beginning to look as if a disinformation campaign was under way against Pakistan so American aid would be adversely affected. Congress is considering a six-year aid package worth $4 billion.

Today, some Pakistanis who have been following the country's nuclear program closely said there was skepticism about the Government's denials in the Pervez case because of certain unanswered questions.

Among these are why such a large quantity of the steel alloy was ordered, and where the foreign currency needed for the purchase would have originated if not from Government sources.

The credibility of Pakistan's denials was diminished earlier this year, many contend, by the publication in India and Pakistan of articles purporting to be based on an interview with the man thought to have masterminded a Pakistani nuclear weapon, Abdul Qadeer Khan. In the interview with an Indian journalist, Kuldip Nayar, and a Pakistani editor, Mushahid Hussain, Mr. Khan refused to answer yes or no to a question about whether Pakistan had a nuclear weapon. He was quoted as having said, however, that Pakistan had proved wrong those who doubted its ability to produce one.

Mr. Khan later denied he had said this. Mr. Mushahid subsequently resigned as editor of the newspaper, The Moslem. But Mr. Nayar stands by his article.